In a bid to rid the Eastern Ports, comprising Rivers, Onne, Calabar, and Warri, of vandals and criminal elements, the Commissioner of Police in charge of the Eastern Ports Command, Jimoh Moshood, yesterday said no fewer than five vandals had been arrested in their attempt to vandalise the ports’ facilities.
Moshood, who briefed the press, the public, and some senior police officers at the command’s headquarters in Port Harcourt, named the suspects as Yiibari James (32), Price Odudu (18), Ernest Jack (20), Ubong Brown (20), and Odinaka Vincent Nwocha (29).
He said the exhibits recovered from the vandals included two wooden canoes, two gas cylinders with hose, and a come-along jack.
There was also one wooden canoe and thick heavy iron and another wooden canoe and pieces of scrap iron.
According to him, the command has adopted new, varied, and modified crime prevention and control strategies to ensure that crimes and criminalities in the Eastern Ports are nipped in the bud.
Distinctive and diligent crime detection investigations and techniques have been implemented to ensure that those crimes and criminalities that might occur are promptly detected.
He said during his last press briefing on October 9, he promised the media, the Nigeria Port Authority (NPA) management, the critical stakeholders, and investors at the Ports a safe and secure environment for marine commercial activities to continue to thrive unhindered throughout the Eastern Ports.
He added that these were being achieved through the implementation of coordinated and sustained intelligent gathering, surveillance, and observation patrols, vigorous patrols of the NPA waterfront by the Marine Police teams, and sustained and continuous raids of criminal hideouts both on land in the ports and terminals and on the waterways throughout the jurisdiction of the Eastern Ports.
He said these new crime prevention, control, and detection strategic measures were already yielding positive results, culminating in the successful crackdown, ambush, and arrest of vicious and notorious Iron steel vandals under the quay apron of the berth facilities of the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), Rivers Ports, Port Harcourt.
Therefore, he acknowledged the support his command got from the Managing Director of Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), Dr. Abubakar Dantosho, and his management team for the immense logistics support and other valuable assistance rendered to the Eastern Ports Police Command.
He said this “made our job much easier in the fight against crime and criminalities in the AOR, thereby bringing the rate of crimes to the barest level.”
He said, “Before going into the breakdown and the parade of the achievements, permit me to gratefully express deep appreciation, once again, to the Managing Director, Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), Dr. Abubakar Dantosho and his management team for the immense logistics supports and other valuable assistance being rendered to the Eastern Ports Police Command, which has made our job much easier in the fight against crime and criminalities in the AOR, thereby bringing the rate of crimes to the bearest level.
“I will also remember to especially thank the Port Manager, Rivers Port, Mrs. Kenechi C. Okezie, and the other three (3) Ports Managers in Onne, Calabar, and Warri for their timely assistance and intervention every time we call on them.
He cited some cases in which his men from the Marine Police attached to Rivers Ports made an arrest on October 10 at about 0700hrs along the NPA waterfront and intercepted one hand pulling a wooden canoe with three occupants on board.
According to him, when the suspects sighted the Marine Police patrol team, two of them jumped out of the wooden canoe into the water and escaped, while one among them, identified as Yiibari James ‘m’ of Elechi Beach waterfront, was arrested. “The patrol team impounded the wooden canoe, and three pieces of long irons found inside the canoe were taken as exhibits,” he added.
There was also a case of intercepting a wooden boat with three occupants on board with some particles of steel iron suspected to have been vandalized from the underneath quay Apron of Berth of Port facilities were found inside the canoe. “The three occupants, identified as (i) Ubong Brown ‘m’, (ii) Prince Odudu’ m’, and (iii) Honest Jack ‘m’, were arrested and taken into custody for investigation,” he said.
The third incident was the interception of some suspects entering the berth 5 Port facility with iron-cutting equipment to vandalize the steel irons and pipes. “In the process of the interception by the Police team, one of the suspects jumped into the water and escaped, while one suspect, Odinakachi Vincent Wocha, age 29yrs, a professional welder at Mile 1 Diobu, Port Harcourt, was arrested, exhibits recovered from the suspect include (i) Two wooden canoe (ii) Two industrial gas cylinder with hose (iii) Come along jack.
“The suspect confessed to having been paid N50,000.00 naira, which he used to buy the industrial gas for the operation, by the gang leader named James, now at large,” he added.
He assured all port ushers that the Eastern Ports command was more determined and dedicated to providing a safe environment for the NPA management and staff, port facilities, port users, and other critical stakeholders to carry out their day-to-day business and other activities peacefully.
